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Friday, April 4, 2014

I came across a wonderful book by Marilyn Hirsh called
I Love Passover. The story of Pesach is told through the eyes
of a young child, who experiences the wonders of the home-based rituals of the
Seder and starts to understand the extraordinary history of faith, courage and
miracles. This is an older book (not that old but published in 1985) and is out of print, but copies can be easily found online.

While I was reading it to 1st and 2nd graders, the children were very engaged, sharing the rituals they knew about. I was thrilled to see
how much our Akiba-Schechter students already know about Passover.

We actually have few books in our library about Passover, possibly because
so much of Pesach takes place in our own homes, but here are some additional picture book
suggestions:

The Adventures of K’ton Ton by Sadie Rosie Weilerstein (This was published in 1935 and is a classic with a story for every Jewish holiday. The main character is called K'ton Ton, which means "very, very little" in Hebrew. He was a late-born miracle and his mother had prayed hard for him, promising to love even a child "no bigger than a thumb." He is often considered the Jewish Tom Thumb.)

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Let My Nation Go by Yosef Deutsch is the story of
Passover written as a novel. With a myriad of sources woven in,
it brings the story of the Exodus to life. Deutsch keeps the story moving and exciting without
compromising on details, and the reader ends up with an enriched understanding of Passover
as the Jewish people begin their journey as a nation.

There is a "companion" volume, Let My Nation Live, that tells the story of Purim as a novel, and we know for sure one of our 8th graders recently had his nose buried in that book every night.

Inspire. Challenge. Nurture.

For more than 60 years, Akiba-Schechter has helped students excel because we believe in their unique strengths and abilities. We are a multi-denominational day school (preschool through 8th grade), located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.